title: Cortical swallowing processing in early subacute stroke.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dysphagia is a major complication in hemispheric as well as brainstem stroke patients causing aspiration pneumonia and increased mortality. Little is known about the recovery from dysphagia after stroke. The aim of the present study was to determine the different patterns of cortical swallowing processing in patients with hemispheric and brainstem stroke with and without dysphagia in the early subacute phase.
  
  
  METHODS
  We measured brain activity by mean of whole-head MEG in 37 patients with different stroke localisation 8.2+/-4.8 days after stroke to study changes in cortical activation during self-paced swallowing. An age matched group of healthy subjects served as controls. Data were analyzed by means of synthetic aperture magnetometry and group analyses were performed using a permutation test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our results demonstrate strong bilateral reduction of cortical swallowing activation in dysphagic patients with hemispheric stroke. In hemispheric stroke without dysphagia, bilateral activation was found. In the small group of patients with brainstem stroke we observed a reduction of cortical activation and a right hemispheric lateralization.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Bulbar central pattern generators coordinate the pharyngeal swallowing phase. The observed right hemispheric lateralization in brainstem stroke can therefore be interpreted as acute cortical compensation of subcortically caused dysphagia. The reduction of activation in brainstem stroke patients and dysphagic patients with cortical stroke could be explained in terms of diaschisis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Muenster, Albert-Schweitzer-Str,33, 48149 Muenster, Germany. i.teismann@uni-muenster.de
authors.forename: Inga K
authors.initials: IK
authors.lastname: Teismann
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Suntrup
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Warnecke
authors.forename: Olaf
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Steinsträter
authors.forename: Maren
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.forename: Agnes
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Flöel
authors.forename: E Bernd
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Ringelstein
authors.forename: Christo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pantev
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dziewas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003680:Deglutition Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015225:Magnetoencephalography; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology